Wednesday, 30 March 2016

Introducing the class 707

On Wednesday 23rd March the South West Trains class 707 mock up was introduced to the public at Waterloo station. The mock up of the cab and an area of passenger seating gave commuters their first chance to see the what they could expect from the 120 new Siemens 'Desiro City' trains which will be launched on South West Trains routes from 2017.The 5-coach trains will provide 275 seats and have a total capacity (including standing room) for over 1000 passengers enabling them to reduce overcrowding on some of the busiest routes in South West London. While the trains, which are largely intended for inner suburban work, will not be fitted with toilets they will feature WiFi and a new more intelligent Passenger Information System.
The trains are similar in style and build to the class 700's which are due to enter traffic imminently on the Thameslink route (the mock up was converted from a 700 model) however the interior specification is different. The class 707 will provide a massive increase in capacity and while not replacing any existing trains will allow stock cascades to other routes so that many more services can be increased in length.
The 30 x 5 coach trains will be maintained at Wimbledon depot in South West London and all will be delivered in the red suburban South West Trains livery.
Also last week an upgrade scheme for Waterloo station was launched to the public- the scheme which will see platforms 1-4 lengthened and full use of the former international platforms will be completed by 2018 and will allow full utilisation of the class 707 fleet as well as 10 car working of suburban trains by the older class 455 and 456 fleet.